1768 Capt. Seth Ward I (c.1661-c.1707)
Capt. Seth Ward I, in his own wordsIf he could speak to us today, Capt. Seth Ward I might describe his life as follows.
I testified at a deposition in August 1691 that I was 30, so I was born about 1661. Being a county clerk was the road to wealth. I had to pay 200 pounds of tobacco in October 1681 to record my marriage license. Since he lost the record, I suppose the county owes me a refund. Anyway, the woman I married was likely Ann Hatcher whose grandfather Henry Lound left one shilling to his granddaughter, Ann Ward.I received my title as an officer of an Henrico County militia company in January 1700/1 and was our county coroner in 1702. Of course, like my father, I lived south of the James in what is now Chesterfield County, where the Colony taxed me on 700 acres in 1704. In only my 40s, I died about 1706 or 1707 leaving some minor children. I had a will but the clerk lost that, too.William Blackman must have married my widow. Since he had my sons’ inheritance, the court ordered him to put up a bond to secure it in 1708. Ann and I were the parents of four sons: Seth, Richard, Benjamin, and Joseph. A daughter may have married Robert Burton Jr. because Benjamin chose him as guardian and it looks like he had a son named Seth Burton. Another was possibly the wife of William Fuqua who had a daughter Sarah Ward Fuqua and grandson Seth Ward Fuqua.In Jan. 1692/3 Seth swapped 150-acre tracts with his brother Edward Ward.
Sons come of ageIn Aug. 1713 Benjamin Ward chose Robert Burton Jr. his guardian and Joseph chose his older brother Seth as guardian. The Henrico County Court ordered William Blackman to deliver the sons’ property to their guardians and appointed Thomas Branch, Christopher Branch, and Richard Ward to see that this was done. A few months later, Richard Ward reached lawful age and William Blackman turned over Richard’s portion of his father’s estate to him.
Road controversyIn 1708 a controversy arose regarding the property that belonged to Seth Ward. Evidently his brother Edward Ward received court approval to lay a road across the land previously belonging to Seth. William Blackman was living there in Dec. 1707 and sued to block the road, alleging that Edward made misrepresentations to the court. The court agreed with Blackman and reversed the order. Another controversy occurred in 1712. Seth Ward Jr. sued William Blackman for the right to lay a cart path across lands “in the possession of William Blackman.” Seth prevailed in this suit.